| Battle of Faventia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gothic War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ostrogothic Kingdom | Byzantine Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Totila |
Constantian Alexander | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000 | 12,000 | ||||||
| |||||
In the spring of 542, at the Battle of Faventia (modern Faenza), an Ostrogothic army under king Totila scattered the larger Roman forces of generals Constantian and Alexander, beginning the resurgence of Gothic resistance to the Roman reconquest of Italy. Before the battle, Valaris, a gigantic Goth, challenged any Roman to do single combat with him. Valaris was slain by the Byzantine (Armenian) soldier Artabazes, who was also mortally wounded.
The original article can be found at Battle of Faventia and the edit history here.